Archbishop of Wales (2000–2002) Bishop of Monmouth (1992–2002)
Orders
Ordination
2 October 1977 (deacon) 2 July 1978 (priest) by Eric Wall (deacon) Peter Walker (priest)
Consecration
1 May 1992 by Alwyn Rice Jones
Personal details
Born
Rowan Douglas Williams
(1950-06-14) 14 June 1950 (age 73)
Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales
Nationality
Welsh
Denomination
Anglicanism
Parents
Aneurin Williams
Delphine née Morris
Spouse
Jane Paul
(m. 1981)
Profession
Bishop, theologian
Alma mater
Christ's College, Cambridge
Wadham College, Oxford
Motto
Cultus Dei Sapientia Hominis
(The worship of God is the wisdom of man)
Signature
Coat of arms
Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
In office January 2013 – October 2020
Preceded by
Duncan Robinson
Succeeded by
Sir Christopher Greenwood
Member of the House of Lords (life peer)
In office January 2013 – 31 August 2020
Academic background
Education
Dynevor School, Swansea
Alma mater
Christ's College, Cambridge
Wadham College, Oxford
College of the Resurrection
Thesis
The Theology of Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky: An Exposition and Critique (1975)
Academic work
Discipline
Theology
Sub-discipline
Church Fathers
moral theology
School or tradition
Affirming Catholicism
Institutions
College of the Resurrection
Westcott House, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge
Christ Church, Oxford
Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, PC, FBA, FRSL, FLSW (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012.[2][3] Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales, Williams was the first Archbishop of Canterbury in modern times not to be appointed from within the Church of England.
Williams's primacy was marked by speculation that the Anglican Communion (in which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the leading figure) was on the verge of fragmentation over disagreements on contemporary issues such as homosexuality and the ordination of women. Williams worked to keep all sides in dialogue.[1] Notable events during his time as Archbishop of Canterbury include the rejection by a majority of dioceses of his proposed Anglican Covenant and, in the final general synod of his tenure, his unsuccessful attempt to secure a sufficient majority for a measure to allow the appointment of women as bishops in the Church of England.
Having spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford successively, Williams speaks three languages and reads at least nine.[4] After standing down as archbishop, Williams took up the position of chancellor of the University of South Wales in 2014 and served as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge between 2013 and 2020.[5][6][7] He also delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh in 2013.
Justin Welby succeeded Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury on 9 November 2012, being enthroned in March 2013. On 26 December 2012, 10 Downing Street announced Williams's elevation to the peerage as a life peer,[8] so that he could continue to speak in the House of Lords. Following the creation of his title on 8 January and its gazetting on 11 January 2013,[9] he was introduced to the temporal benches of the House of Lords as Baron Williams of Oystermouth on 15 January 2013,[10] sitting as a crossbencher. Oystermouth is a district of Swansea. He retired from the House on 31 August 2020[11] and from Magdalene College that Autumn, returning to Abergavenny, in his former diocese (Monmouthshire).[7]
^ ab"Profile: Dr Rowan Williams". News.bbc.co.uk. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
^"Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to stand down". BBC News. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
^"Archbishop of Canterbury: Vote to confirm Justin Welby". BBC News. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
^See Profile of Master Archived 27 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Magdalene College, Cambridge; BBC Russian.com interview with Williams: ``Я читаю на девяти или десяти языках, но говорю только на трех.`` ("I read nine or ten languages, but speak only three.")
^"Archbishop of Canterbury to be Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge". Archbishopofcanterbury.org. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
^"University merger 11 April 2013". Southwalesargus.co.uk. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
^ ab"Farewell Rowan and Jane Williams". Magdalene College. October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^"Peerage for the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury - GOV.UK". Number10.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
^"No. 60389". The London Gazette. 11 January 2013. p. 477.
^"Introduction: Lord Williams of Oystermouth". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). UK: House of Lords. 15 January 2013. col. 585. Retrieved 18 January 2013. "Lords Hansard text for 15 Jan 201315 Jan 2013 (Pt 0001)". Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Lord Williams of Oystermouth". UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, PC, FBA, FRSL, FLSW (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was...
was sent to the island by the church in Rome in 597. Welby succeeded RowanWilliams. From the time of Augustine until the 16th century, the archbishops...
RowanWilliams (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, previously having...
Michael Lobban; M. R. James; Friedrich Hayek; John Maynard Keynes; and RowanWilliams. List of fellows of the British Academy "The British Academy Welcomes...
don't really matter after all." The former Archbishop of Canterbury, RowanWilliams, and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, have expressed tolerance...
Established in 1972, RowanWilliams Davies & Irwin Inc. (RWDI) is a Canadian engineering consulting firm that specializes in wind engineering and environmental...
Durham, Justin Welby, who was formally announced as successor to Dr RowanWilliams yesterday, insisted that he supported the Church of England's opposition...
Arius was the founder of the doctrine of Arianism but, more recently, RowanWilliams stated that "Arius' role in 'Arianism' was not that of the founder of...
original on 23 November 2007. – Waldo Williams was headteacher of the school Williams, Rowan (23 March 2012). "Waldo Williams - Poetry and Peacemaking". Archived...
where he sat as a crossbencher. He was succeeded as archbishop by RowanWilliams. Living in the Diocese of Oxford, until 2017 Carey served there as an...
by references in the Church of England to liberalism. For example, RowanWilliams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, in his "text of reflection" The...
2004). "Williams backs Pullman". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Rowan, Williams (10 March...
Retrieved 8 August 2015. Malcolm Guite, quoting RowanWilliams and Grevel Lindop, in "Kind Words From RowanWilliams" at Malcolm Guite (blog), 23 November 2012...
before publication." RowanWilliams wrote a response to Spong's 12 points in 1998, when he was the Bishop of Monmouth. Williams wrote that "... I cannot...
evangelical wing of the church. The former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr RowanWilliams, appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, while being...
chancellor. The inauguration of the university and the installation of RowanWilliams as chancellor took place in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in December...
reference is surely to the fall of Jerusalem." Anglican theologian RowanWilliams, then Archbishop of Wales, and who would soon become Archbishop of Canterbury...
Anglican-style is the rochet worn by the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, RowanWilliams which has open-ended narrow sleeves in the manner of the Roman rochet...
appeared at "The Gathering", organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, RowanWilliams, at Canterbury Cathedral to discuss religion, society and journalism...
Sophrony John Meyendorff Dumitru Stăniloae Olivier Clément Henri Bergson RowanWilliams Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius Lossky became a French citizen...
Archbishop Williams may refer to: RowanWilliams, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop John Joseph Williams (1822–1907), American Roman Catholic...
of that submitted.[citation needed] Former Archbishop of Canterbury RowanWilliams was, in 2011, bestowed a visiting professorship with the title Gladstone...
2004). "Williams backs Pullman". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Rowan, Williams (10 March...
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